How far has Oceania "Dumbed Down" or made Bland, the taste of it's Culinary Offering!

[Go-Bucks!]

I hate liquid eggs -- even the fun ship cracks 'em fresh at the omelet bar.

 

Tell me this isn't true. O uses fresh eggs, don't they??

[LHT28]

Tell me this isn't true. O uses fresh eggs, don't they??

Depends on what they are making

[Chris86]

just off insignia food is fantastic. of course I could always think of one or two things that could be improved. however for the variety and amount of food offered i'm still overly impressed

[njhorseman]

Tell me this isn't true. O uses fresh eggs, don't they??

 

They use liquid egg mixture to make omelets at breakfast in the buffet . I suspect they do the same in the dining room. That's why I order fried eggs more often than not.

[Travelcat2]

That's always been the plan. I just posted it to see other persons opinions compared to other cruises. If you have not cruised on anything other than Oceania, well there is nothing to compare it too other than real land restaurants.

We are "foodies" and know how food should be prepared if you own a restaurant.

We have cruised only on Princess(2) and Celebrity(1) and found the food on Princess to a notch above "wedding" catered food in the MDR and did not think the specialty restaurants were worth the upsell after one try.

Celebrity, in Luminae, was as good as any top notch restaurant that we tried in cities around the world, well worth the up charge.

We choose Oceania solely because of the great itinery for South America.

We will not starve on this cruise and look forward to the food as that is the "feature" that is talked about and advertised by Oceania.

 

Sorry that you have been blasted by some people on this board. We have cruised Oceania, Regent and Silversea and do feel that the food on Oceania is quite good in the speciality restaurants. We find the food in the Terrace Cafe troublesome. While there is an enormous array of delicious looking food, we find that it looks much better than it tastes. I do recognize that everyone has different tastes. For instance, the sushi looks like sushi but doesn't taste like sushi we have in a Japanese restaurant. People stand in line for pasta but the pasta we received wasn't warm (the plate was but not the pasta) and it wasn't drained well so it was watery. We do not care for the atmosphere or the food in that dining venue. The quality of the meat was not as good as on Siversea or Regent (but is quite good in Polo).

 

We have not sailed on Princess but assume that the food on Oceania is quite a bit better. Jacques, IMO, is better than any restaurant we have dined in at sea. However, again, that is just our opinion.

 

I know that the question was about blandness but we don't find the food bland as much as we find it not to our liking in the MDR and Terrace Cafe.

[Floridiana]

I simply object to the fact that a person who has never cruised on Oceania starts a big headline and thread on food blandness. Supposedly, it is based on some other person's postings. I have nothing against people who have tasted the food and THEN start a thread about the lack of spiciness or whatever they disliked. Tastes differ after all.

 

If the op were really interested in food quality, she could have phrased the headline differently. Just my opinion.

[Paulchili]

I simply object to the fact that a person who has never cruised on Oceania starts a big headline and thread on food blandness. Supposedly, it is based on some other person's postings. I have nothing against people who have tasted the food and THEN start a thread about the lack of spiciness or whatever they disliked. Tastes differ after all.

 

If the op were really interested in food quality, she could have phrased the headline differently. Just my opinion.

 

Agreed :)

[509ers]

Agreed :)

Me too

[travelberlin]

That's always been the plan. I just posted it to see other persons opinions compared to other cruises. If you have not cruised on anything other than Oceania, well there is nothing to compare it too other than real land restaurants.

We are "foodies" and know how food should be prepared if you own a restaurant.

We have cruised only on Princess(2) and Celebrity(1) and found the food on Princess to a notch above "wedding" catered food in the MDR and did not think the specialty restaurants were worth the upsell after one try.

Celebrity, in Luminae, was as good as any top notch restaurant that we tried in cities around the world, well worth the up charge.

We choose Oceania solely because of the great itinery for South America.

We will not starve on this cruise and look forward to the food as that is the "feature" that is talked about and advertised by Oceania.

 

We are also "foodies" and do not like when someone thinks he or she has prepared the food in such a way that no salt shall be available on the table. This is a practice which some restaurants have tried to implement but which is not always welcome. In terms of tastes, what is tasty enough for some one, it might not be so for others. We do not like to have our food salty and we do prefer when we have to add it instead of returning the food for being too salty to our taste.

[Cruise Junky]

We are also "foodies" and do not like when someone thinks he or she has prepared the food in such a way that no salt shall be available on the table. This is a practice which some restaurants have tried to implement but which is not always welcome. In terms of tastes, what is tasty enough for some one, it might not be so for others. We do not like to have our food salty and we do prefer when we have to add it instead of returning the food for being too salty to our taste.

 

That doesn't work and as "foodies" you should know that salt added during cooking brings out the flavor of all the ingredients...salt added at the table just makes food taste like salt.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Cruise Junky

[St Paul Girl]

That doesn't work and as "foodies" you should know that food added during cooking brings out the flavor of all the ingredients...salt added at the table just makes food taste like salt.

 

Thank you very much! I agree 100% as I had stated before.

Good restaurants do NOT put a salt shaker on the table!

[twochromic]

Good restaurants do NOT put a salt shaker on the table!

That would be fine, but there's the inconsistency problem. Sometimes McD's puts lots on the fries, other times they're really lacking.

[pinotlover]

The epitome of stupid. One of the poorly produced meals, on our last cruise, that was extremely bland was Zarzuela, normally a wonderful tasty spicy Spanish version of bouillabaisse. Problem was, no spices in the broth, almost just a clear broth and just bland.Numerous complaints were made to the chef. The chef came out and This is when the head chef made the comment about recipes being toned down. A lady, at an adjoining table spoke up and said she liked the dish just fine and didn't want spicy. Then the ringer, she said , if we wanted it spicy we could just add Tabasco. Dear stupid, cooking with spices and peppers yields different taste results than from just adding Tabasco to the served dish!

 

Just a recommendation, if you want to serve a toned down version of bouillabaisse, that's quite OK, many people will enjoy it. Just don't call it Zarzuela on the menu, because people then expect Zarzuela! Why should that be difficult?

[MarkieMarkNYC]

Thank you very much! I agree 100% as I had stated before.

Good restaurants do NOT put a salt shaker on the table!

 

Meh - I'm not a fan of "foodie" fascists.

Some people like a bit more salt even when prepared by an outstanding chef.

Everyone is different. Everyone should be permitted to enjoy their meal they way they wish without self-appointed "foodies" dictating whether it's appropriate or not.

[Cruise Junky]

Meh - I'm not a fan of "foodie" fascists.

Some people like a bit more salt even when prepared by an outstanding chef.

Everyone is different. Everyone should be permitted to enjoy their meal they way they wish without self-appointed "foodies" dictating whether it's appropriate or not.

 

Except it's not us Foodies saying don't put salt on the table, it's the chef saying you will eat my food the way I prepare it. And I'm sure anyone could ask for a salt shaker.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

Except it's not us Foodies saying don't put salt on the table, it's the chef saying you will eat my food the way I prepare it. And I'm sure anyone could ask for a salt shaker.

Oh, I thought I read some "foodies" here say just that - that a good restaurant shouldn't put a salt shaker on the table. Perhaps I misread that.

 

I'm not a foodie (would love to hear exactly what that means - is it someone who likes food?) - but I have my favorite Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Afghan, Turkish, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Kosher, Peruvian, and French restaurants here in NYC. I've been to elegant restaurants as well as holes-in-the-wall. Salt shakers are pretty standard, so I assume that most chefs understand that individual diners may wish to season their food differently.

[St Paul Girl]

Oh, I thought I read some "foodies" here say just that - that a good restaurant shouldn't put a salt shaker on the table. Perhaps I misread that.

 

I'm not a foodie (would love to hear exactly what that means - is it someone who likes food?) - but I have my favorite Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Afghan, Turkish, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Kosher, Peruvian, and French restaurants here in NYC. I've been to elegant restaurants as well as holes-in-the-wall. Salt shakers are pretty standard, so I assume that most chefs understand that individual diners may wish to season their food differently.

 

I don't think so! I don't know what restaurants you go to in "NYC", but all of the ones that we frequent in Manhattan and beyond, have "real" chefs", and they do NOT put salt shakers on their tables. Anyone can call themselves a "chef". Maybe the word you were looking for is "cooks"

Sorry for telling it like it is.

In NYC, Bobby Flay, Thomas Keller, Cesar Ramirez are chefs, Guy Fieri is a cook.

Time to take a break everyone.

Happy Cruising

[Classiccruiser777]

I don't know what restaurants you go to in "NYC", but all of the ones that we frequent in Manhattan and beyond, have "real" chefs", and they do NOT put salt shakers on their tables.

Oceania provides salt and pepper shakers on the tables in all the dining venues I've frequented. Perhaps O isn't a good fit for you. Just sayin'.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

I don't think so! I don't know what restaurants you go to in "NYC", but all of the ones that we frequent in Manhattan and beyond, have "real" chefs", and they do NOT put salt shakers on their tables. Anyone can call themselves a "chef". Maybe the word you were looking for is "cooks"

Sorry for telling it like it is.

In NYC, Bobby Flay, Thomas Keller, Cesar Ramirez are chefs, Guy Fieri is a cook.

Time to take a break everyone.

Happy Cruising

You're probably right. We're not fortunate enough to have the standard that I'm sure exists in Manitoba.

I'm still wondering what a "foodie" is. Can you enlighten me?

[MarkieMarkNYC]

Ah, NOW I know what a foodie is!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Foodie

[sandbag7]

Ah, NOW I know what a foodie is!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Foodie

 

MM Congratulations on safely getting over 200 comments again; I'm pretty sure you can stay North of that line now that all comments between you and Charlestown have been erased.

I can't say whether St Paul Girl is right about New York Resraurants and salt because I never look for salt on the table; as to chefs, Flay is better than most would think, Keller gave me the most expensive disappointing meal of my long life, and I haven't tried anything by Ramirez yet.

I have some optimism about the food on our upcoming O cruise based on the Lobster Diavolo prepared spicy at my request - it was darn near perfect. Of course I expect getting my individual preferences in the MDR to be more difficult. I will start with the basics: the bacon is cooked HOURS before breakfast and is done into dried chips; the Terrace said I would have to order my (less destroyed) bacon a day in advance. I will try to get it in the MDR.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Except it's not us Foodies saying don't put salt on the table, it's the chef saying you will eat my food the way I prepare it. And I'm sure anyone could ask for a salt shaker.

 

Anyone could ask for a salt shaker, but there are some pompous chefs out there -- quite certain their preferences are the only correct preferences -- and they refuse to provide a salt shaker when asked.

 

Everyone has a different taste threshold for the five basic flavors. (I've even linked a Scientific American web site for anyone who wants to discover his/her own taste threshold for three of those flavors: salt, sweetness, and sourness.) This threshold is a function of lots of factors: culture, age, health, expectation, and individual biology. Any chef who believes he/she knows optimal amount of salt/sugar/etc for everyone who dines at his/her restaurant is delusional.

 

The worst meal I've even eaten on Oceania was my lone experience dining at La Reserve. The chef over-salted every single dish. I'm sure the chef did not say, I'll salt the food to such a high level that diners will not be able to tell the difference between my dishes and a block of salt. Yet that was the result as far as I was concerned, and I'm not on a low sodium diet. (Ditto for two of the three other diners at our table.) Perhaps even more striking was the fact that three people at our table kept sending back largely uneaten dishes, and no staff member bothered to ask any of us if there was a problem. Was the chef an I'm infallible type and the maitre d' or waiters were too intimidated to point out a problem with the food? I kept thinking "This has got to improve. I can't believe the chef is so clueless about the level of salt in his food." But it didn't.

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-taste-thresholds/

[travelberlin]

Meh - I'm not a fan of "foodie" fascists.

Some people like a bit more salt even when prepared by an outstanding chef.

Everyone is different. Everyone should be permitted to enjoy their meal they way they wish without self-appointed "foodies" dictating whether it's appropriate or not.

Me either... no way a gourmand will be dictated how his food should taste.

Edited September 20, 2017 by travelberlin

[travelberlin]

Anyone could ask for a salt shaker, but there are some pompous chefs out there -- quite certain their preferences are the only correct preferences -- and they refuse to provide a salt shaker when asked.

 

Everyone has a different taste threshold for the five basic flavors. (I've even linked a Scientific American web site for anyone who wants to discover his/her own taste threshold for three of those flavors: salt, sweetness, and sourness.) This threshold is a function of lots of factors: culture, age, health, expectation, and individual biology. Any chef who believes he/she knows optimal amount of salt/sugar/etc for everyone who dines at his/her restaurant is delusional.

 

The worst meal I've even eaten on Oceania was my lone experience dining at La Reserve. The chef over-salted every single dish. I'm sure the chef did not say, I'll salt the food to such a high level that diners will not be able to tell the difference between my dishes and a block of salt. Yet that was the result as far as I was concerned, and I'm not on a low sodium diet. (Ditto for two of the three other diners at our table.) Perhaps even more striking was the fact that three people at our table kept sending back largely uneaten dishes, and no staff member bothered to ask any of us if there was a problem. Was the chef an I'm infallible type and the maitre d' or waiters were too intimidated to point out a problem with the food? I kept thinking "This has got to improve. I can't believe the chef is so clueless about the level of salt in his food." But it didn't.

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-taste-thresholds/

 

Yes imho you are right. The worst food I have had was when the cook send a tagliolini with fresh truffle so salty that we had to return it twice! The cook insisted this is how it was supposed to taste. We have eaten this dish many times before and after that incident and he was definitely not right. Living in a city with plenty of Michelin stars chefs we have learned to distinguish the arrogant ones who are more interested on pleasing themselves than the ones who have their reward from satisfied and not intimidated clients.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Yes imho you are right. The worst food I have had was when the cook send a tagliolini with fresh truffle so salty that we had to return it twice! The cook insisted this is how it was supposed to taste. We have eaten this dish many times before and after that incident and he was definitely not right. Living in a city with plenty of Michelin stars chefs we have learned to distinguish the arrogant ones who are more interested on pleasing themselves than the ones who have their reward from satisfied and not intimidated clients.

 

Yikes! If I've understood your post, you received a dish of over-salted pasta with fresh truffles. You complained and sent the dish back. The chef presumably prepared a second dish the pasta with the same results. You, again, returned the dish. Were you served a third plate of over-salted food? Even if you gave up and changed your order, the chef has now sunk a mind-boggling amount of money into fresh truffles for multiple tries. At the price of fresh truffles, that chef was a fool for insisting on his salt prerogatives at the cost of his bottom line and his reputation.